Tag Archives: UAE Life

UK Pensions and Inheritance Tax: What Brits in the UAE and GCC Need to Know Before April 2027

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If you are a British expat living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or elsewhere in the GCC, and you assumed your UK pension would pass to your family tax-free it’s time to revisit that assumption.

From 6th April 2027, the rules will change significantly, and combined with reforms already in force since April 2025, the UK’s inheritance tax (IHT) net now reaches further into expat life than it has previously.

Here’s what’s changing, who it affects, and – crucially – what to do about it now. Continue reading →

Need to Know: New UAE laws & rules from 1st June 2026

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1st June 2026 is a significant day for UAE laws. Several important changes are coming into force, and if you live or work here, some of these will affect you directly.

This article is an easy-to-follow summary so you can keep up to date.

The New Civil Code. The biggest change in 40 years

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Will the Iran conflict affect your life insurance?

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A few clients have contacted me to ask about whether their protection plans, their life insurance policies, are still valid considering the current situation in the UAE, and wider GCC.

In this article I explain the situation and give you some facts. Reassuring facts.

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There is now another important reason why you need a UAE will

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A change in UAE law affects expats who hold bank accounts, property, or other assets in the UAE.

I have written about the many reasons why you need a Will in the past (see 15 reasons here) but this is something new.

If you pass away without a registered Will, your assets are now classified as “unassigned.”

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Turn your American dream into a plan. It’s easier than you think.

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If your dream is to live and work in the USA, it may be easier than you think.

You can obtain a green card, with permanent residency in just a few months.

This is available to almost everyone and is the best value permanent immigration programme in the world.

The USA needs workers and this is how you can move to start a new life.  Start your journey to permanent relocation in the USA.

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Beware banking fraud. How to beat the scammers.

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The sad reality is that there are large number of scammers who are working hard to hack your accounts, obtain your information, and take your money. Far too many are successful but you can take some smart, and logical, steps to reduce your risk of falling prey to a scammer.

Fraudsters are organised and clever and will often choose their targets using information that you have posted or shared online. Some can even see spending habits so will target based on that. They can go to extraordinary lengths to try and convince you they are genuine so we all need to stay one step ahead.

These days, our lives are online and, in our smartphones, so we need to take steps to protect ourselves.

We need to take steps so we don’t become a victim.

In this article I want to give you some useful tips to keep your banking secure and on to avoid the most common financial scams.

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Living in the UAE. 10 major money mistakes you want to avoid

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Moving to the UAE is a big change. Living in the UAE, or even the wider GCC, is not quite like life elsewhere.

It is not uncommon for expats for make a few financial mistakes but proper planning, some research, and the right advice will make for a better experience, and a better life generally.

This article has a list of the most common errors and while some may seem obvious, they are all made regularly. Knowledge is power so have a read and make sure you aren’t making mistakes that you could easily avoid.

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Financial Tips for Parents

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When you have children, you get lots of advice and tips from everyone but one area that tends to be overlooked is the financial aspect.

In the excitement of impending parenthood, or the crazy first few months – and years – you may never get around to taking some important financial steps. It’s too easy to forget this essential topic so this article is designed to be a useful guide to some of the issues you need to consider.

Multiple surveys have put the cost of raising a child at eye-watering levels over their first 18 years and expats working in the UAE have the added cost of education and medical bills to contend with.

Factor in university or college costs and the fact that many young adults may not be fully financially independent until closer to age 25, and you can see just how important it is to plan sensibly.

Let’s look at some of the financial steps you need to consider.

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10 Financial Resolutions for 2022 you can actually keep

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Many of us make New Year resolutions, but how many of those are about our finances? And how many of them do we really keep?

financial resolutions2020 and 2021 have been tough years for large numbers of people and we can’t be sure of what else is in store, but knowing you have taken all the right financial steps will put you in a good position to weather any future storm.

Invariably, we could all do a little better and some focus rarely goes amiss. With that in mind here’s a list of 10 steps you can take to get yourself financially fitter in 2022.

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